Have you ever wondered what your holiday seasons might be like as you age — or even what they might be like if you get to be what the pundits call “old-old” (over 85)?

I got a look at what they actually are like for one of my very favorite people in the whole world and a major mentor in my faith life this past Thanksgiving.

Her name is Isabel Baker, and she and her husband, Irv, were my Bible teachers in the small storefront church I was involved in when I lived in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Isabel is 94 now, still lives on her own in a community called Laurel Park in Northampton, Mass., originally formed as part of the Springfield District Camp Meeting (Methodist) in the 1880s.

Isabel shows none of the mental decline we expect in “older folks” but evinces a lot of the physical challenges — she can’t get around at all without a walker, no longer drives, and may even have a slight hearing loss (she didn’t mention it, and I’m not going to bring it up!).

She and her husband were Florida snowbirds for many years, and it was during that time in their lives that I happened to meet and fall in love with them and the living, vibrant faith that emanated from them.

Irv was the first of many people to tell me “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.”

The first time I ever looked closely at Isabel, she was playing the piano during a service at our church in Riviera Beach, which was held in a banquet room of a hotel on the ocean. The light was streaming in behind her as she sat at the keyboard, and I remember thinking, “She is one of most beautiful people I have ever seen.” She was around 70 then, and at that time I didn’t realize that the inner light she carried was a magnificent counterpart to the sunlight streaming in behind her. I only knew she was special, and beautiful.

Twenty-four years later, I cruised into her little cottage in Massachusetts, arriving around 2 p.m. on the day after Thanksgiving. I had brought with me a little arrangement with a yellow rose and baby’s breath and presented it to her, saying, “I brought you this so you wouldn’t forget me.” She smiled and pointed at a little plush elephant on one of her shelves and said, “The last time you were here, you brought me that elephant so I wouldn’t forget you.”

Hmmm. I had forgotten all about that.

Isabel then made a call to her younger friend Denise who helps her in many ways. Not long after that, Denise arrived with coffee for all of us from the local Dunkin Donuts. Later there was a call from another friend in the park, Marge, who inquired as to whether Isabel’s company had shown up yet, and arrangements were made to bring over a complete Thanksgiving dinner for us — and when she showed up toting it with the help of her son, she actually stayed and ate with us, making it very festive. Somewhere during all that, two of the local teenagers knocked on the door and had homemade cards they were selling, which we all purchased.

The next morning came, and a gentleman dropped off a homemade truffle he had saved from his Thanksgiving dinner. Then, two young ladies showed up around 9:30 (one was the younger sister of one of the ones from the previous night) and they had holiday cards they had made for Mrs. Baker. They stayed for a little visit, too.

As I headed back to Maine, I had quite a while to think about things, and this is what I came up with: There’s gotta be some truth to “as ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

Isabel is living proof of that. This woman who lived her whole long life in service to God is now being held, cherished, venerated, and cared for by a little community that had its seeds in the Christian lifestyle of another time. Would that it could be so for all of us. 

The Rev. Marilyn S. Glavin has been the pastor at Second Congregational Church in Biddeford since 2004. She can be reached at:

marsglavin@yahoo.com. marsglavin@yahoo.com.

 

Copy the Story Link